Some weeks ago it was announced that Michael Wolff had landed a deal with the US publisher Doubleday to write a biography of Rupert Murdoch. Doubleday is an imprint of Random House. Today's news that the British rights have been acquired by Bodley Head, an imprint of Random House UK, is therefore somewhat unsurprising.

What is surprising is that Murdoch has evidently agreed to give "unparalleled access" to an author who has not been uncritical of him in the past. Wolff will be able to talk to the man himself and his business associates. In the jargon, I think this is known as a "semi-authorised biography."

Anyway, well done to Wolff, who wrote an interesting profile of Murdoch in this month's Vanity Fair. It included this observation: "Let me offer a hypothesis: Murdoch's mean, louche, finger-in-the-eye reputation is, to some extent, a cultivated one. You can certainly make a decent argument that Murdoch ought to rate no worse than any other media-conglomerate news owner, and, maybe, better. His news operations are better funded, more dynamic, and more diverse than those of the other media consolidators."

In a press release Wolff is quoted as saying: "There is no more powerful, interesting, and significant figure in the media business than Rupert Murdoch. In fact, he has held great power far longer than anyone else in business or in politics in the modern era. He is the leading man of our age. For better or worse, his story is ours".

Gosh, I bet Rupert likes that "leading man of our age" tag, eh? I look forward to talking to Mr Wolff, who is lining up interviews galore in Britain with just about everyone who knows the leading man of our age.